


Be Careful With That Bleeding Heart of Yours

by InkyWandmaker



Series: Tenderverse Extras [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Emetophobia, Hidden Relationships, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Swearing, wound cauterization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:47:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28436376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyWandmaker/pseuds/InkyWandmaker
Summary: Rufus climbed the last hill between their group and the first glimpse of their destination: the glimmering marble cathedral overlooking the Rhodos Coast dedicated to Saint Cethleann surrounded by the sprawling outbuildings housing the various monks, priests, nuns and disciples who kept the whole place running.What he saw instead brought him to a screeching halt, eyes wide.
Relationships: Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd/Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius, Rufus Blaiddyd & Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd, Rufus Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius’s Uncle, Rufus Blaiddyd/Serene Fraldarius
Series: Tenderverse Extras [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2080707
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Be Careful With That Bleeding Heart of Yours

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the same universe as Tenderverse but before pretty much everything. This also works very well as a prequel to Ena’s fic Break It In but it can be read separately from everything else.
> 
> —:—

“ _Why_ are we doing this again?”

Lambert rolled his eyes as his brother spurred his horse forward just enough to match step with his own for the sole purpose of having someone to bitch to.

“Father received some intel that there was some tension between the Western Church and House Blaiddyd so he wants us to go smooth things over before things get even worse.”

“No I get that but why are _we_ the ones being sent?” Rufus pushed his blonde hair out of his eyes, clearly irritated from having to ride across Faerghus during the rainy season when the roads were more mud than anything. “Last time I checked we had diplomats and stuff for this.”

“Yes but father is....” Lambert struggled to find the right words, not wanting to speak ill of his King’s decisions while also knowing that all was not right at home. “ _Suspicious._ He wanted to send people he trusted.”

“Paranoid is more like it,” Rufus grumbled, his complaining fading a bit under the serious topic. “He’s not getting any better then?”

“No, ever since mother passed he has been sure someone is coming to get him. He isn’t sleeping well anymore.” Lambert hesitated, not wanting to betray confidences but also knowing that Rufus deserved to know just as much as he did- no matter what father said. There was just no way his brother of all people was untrustworthy. “...he’s sick Ruru...he keeps telling me all these things that I’ll ‘need to know’ when he’s gone and I...they don’t make any _sense_.”

Rufus brought his horse to an abrupt stop, turning in his saddle to stare at his younger brother. “What kinds of things?”

Lambert opened his mouth to explain but was cut off by Rodrigue’s clear voice calling out from behind, concerned that they’d stopped so abruptly. “Is everything alright up there?”

“Yes everything is fine!” Lambert called back, offering his knight a winning smile- the kind that would fool anyone if they hadn’t watched him perfecting said smile in the mirror every day growing up. Rufus felt his frown deepen even as he watched his brother ride ahead, avoiding the subject. 

He didn’t like it, watching his baby brother struggle with something that he didn’t feel he could share. Gently he urged Lily to a leisurely walk, letting Rodrigue pass him so he could ride beside his own bodyguard instead.

Serene’s giant draft horse clopped up beside him, bearing her equally huge rider. “Hey, you good Rufus?”

“Yeah Lambert just said something...weird. I’ll ask him about it when we get to the Monastery.”

“Goddess I hope it’s soon!” Serene made a show of stretching. “My ass is so sore from all this riding! How you people can ride these beasts everywhere is beyond me.”

“Weren’t you going to work on your mastery as a Great Knight?” Rufus teased, a smirk playing across his lips.

“Only because _you_ insist on breaking tradition and want to be a mounted _caster_ of all things! That’s like waving a giant ‘Please Kill Me I’m Unarmed’ flag to the enemy! I’m gonna have to work extra hard just to keep you alive!”

“For the last time being a caster doesn’t make you _unarmed_ , it just means that you use your head as your weapon instead of swinging a hunk of metal around like a barbarian!” Rufus tossed his braid over his shoulder, looking back at his bodyguard with a sultry smirk. “Not that I’d expect _you_ to understand you big brute. _Finesse_ and you might as well be antonyms.”

“Keep making that face and my ass won’t be the only one that’s sore tonight.”

“ _Oh I’m counting on it._ ”

Rufus rode ahead abruptly, kicking up mud behind his horse and sending it flying at Serene, laughing when he was rewarded with a loud “FUCK!” that made Rodrigue turn nearly completely around to glare at his twin.

“LANGUAGE!”

“OH SHUT UP- LIKE YOU DON’T CUSS WITH THE REST OF US!”

Rufus shook his head as the two Fraldarius twins began another of their infamous arguments- the two sharing a language unique to them and expressed solely through silent looks and pointless arguments- Rodrigue falling back again while Serene spurred forward, the two meeting in the middle to begin the complicated ritual of sibling conflict just for the sake of filling a silence.

Rufus took the chance to send Lily into a full gallop, streaking past his little brother and all the others as he leaned forward to better feel the crisp air whip across his face and hair. They were almost at the monastery anyway and the others would catch up soon enough.

Lily climbed the last hill between their group and the first glimpse of their destination: the glimmering marble cathedral overlooking the Rhodos Coast dedicated to Saint Cethleann surrounded by the sprawling outbuildings housing the various monks, priests, nuns and disciples who kept the whole place running.

What he saw instead brought him to a screeching halt, eyes wide.

The only wooden structures, the stables, were on fire- the smoke blowing inland from the ocean winds as the horses and Pegasi panicked, most bolting into the waiting nets and ropes of the group responsible for the attack- bandits clad in all black. More bandits attacked the clergy, the very few warriors present attempting to hold their assailants off long enough to allow the Nuns of Cethleann clad in all white to run toward the marble cathedral where it seemed a makeshift barricade had been erected. 

Unlike the Central Church with their Knights of Serios, the Western Monastery didn’t have a large military presence at all- per order of the Archbishop of course- instead focusing on the interpretation and teachings of the Scriptures of Serios and how faith enriched the body and mind. They must have made for sitting ducks, their large collection of holy artifacts and priceless heirlooms a siren call for any bandits with the stones to strike against the church.

“HEY GUYS GET OVER HERE!” Rufus called down the hill, interrupting the argument as everyone picked up on his serious (and slightly panicked) tone. The three riders all spurred their horses into a gallop to reach the top of the hill where they all gawked at the chaos below.

“What is Serios name-!” Lambert gasped, eyes wide until they settled on the body of a young girl- maybe 15 at most- just outside the stone wall. She had clearly scrambled up the structure in a desperate attempt to escape her assailants only to fall to her death when she was shot in the back with a crossbow bolt. His jaw clenched in barely concealed rage.

“...fuck,” Serene breathed, for once at a loss for words. Beside him, his brother drew his spear.

“Come on. We have to help.” He declared, charging ahead without waiting for the others, ever the white knight. His twin swore loudly and hastened to follow, his long black hair whipping behind him.

Rufus looked over at his brother, hoping to check in before charging blindly ahead only to see Lambert take off before he could say anything.

“...They’re all _idiots_ ,” Rufus huffed, irritated. The three of them were too rash for their own good and, once again, it fell to him to be the voice of reason. He took a moment to calm his clearly distressed mare. “Cmon girl, let’s go make sure they don’t kill themselves.”

—:—

Whoever the bandits were, they were clearly not only bold but also dumb- a winning combination. By the time Rufus had arrived in the chaos, the Fraldarius twins had made short work of the bandits trying to steal the monastery mounts and Lambert had made a lot of progress cutting a path through the bandits standing between him and the barricade.

However, Rufus wasn’t staring at his brother to admire his good form but instead was staring at what Lambert was wielding: Aredbhar, The Spear of Justice. Rufus has once read in a book that in the old tongue, Aredbhar was translated as “Slaughterer” which felt more accurate. While he had only been allowed to hold it once, Rufus had quickly discovered that everythings about that weapon felt _wrong_ \- the way it was always faintly warm, the unnatural glow, the bone like feel of the blade, and most disturbingly, the way it somehow had a _pulse_ like the thing was _alive._

Seeing his baby brother- his little Lamby- holding that awful spear made him feel like he’d swallowed ice. Father had always been adamant that he would only give Lambert Aredbhar when he could “no longer use it.”

And that meant that the day Rufus had dreaded for so long- the day when the world would suddenly come crashing down on his brother’s shoulders and everything would change- was much much closer than he had ever imagined and it made him feel _sick_. The crown changed people- both for better and for worse- and Rufus was scared of what it would do to the boy he had known since his birth.

The terrified cry of a nun running from the blade of a bandit snapped Rufus back to the present. Calling upon his innate wind magic, the moment he felt the prickle of cold air on his fingertips he grasped onto the feeling and sent a cutting whip of air toward the bandit, watching as it cut through the delicate skin of his throat and left him bleeding.

Rufus quickly looked away. He didn’t relish death and while he knew that it was necessary, that didn’t mean he wanted to watch it.

Focusing on the desire to protect and cure the wounded clergy and any wounds held by his friends and family, Rufus pressed one hand to his heart and raised the other, letting a burst of soft green light erupt into the air and fortify all those who needed the strength to go on and heal some of their wounds. Rufus smiled slightly when he saw a priest who had previously been near death pick himself up and limp his way to the barricade.

Now with their own task of freeing the mounts accomplished, Rodrigue rode through the fight to join Lambert in the clean up effort. Serene, who had dismounted at the gate, began to make his way over on foot, occasionally slowing down to swing his very heavy battle axe at the nearest bandit, often taking them down with a single blow.

The battle, if it could even be called that, was quickly coming to an abrupt end as more and more of the remaining bandits began to retreat only to find the exit route blocked by Rufus where they met a swift and hopefully painless end. At the barricade, the apparent bandit leader had been captured by Rodrigue and Lambert was cleaning Aredbhar while speaking to a particularly impressively dressed man who must have been a church official of some sort. All in all, it could have been much wor-

“RUFUS LOOK OUT!”

At Serene’s shout, Rufus immediately threw his hands out and cast a protection spell on himself and Lily. However, the blow he had anticipated never came as instead Serene had jumped in front of the blade aimed at him and took the hit to his chest, the Frostblade piercing the area right over Serene’s heart.

With a snarl, Rufus sent a blade of wind in the bandit’s direction, not even watching as it decapitated him cleanly in his haste to dismount and rush over to his knight and lover now bleeding out.

It took him less than a minute to arrive but that didn’t stop it from feeling like an eternity to the prince.

“You fucking idiot you aren’t wearing your armor- what were you even thinking!?” Rufus shouted as he dropped to his knees to examine the stab wound.

“I had to p-protect you.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I can protect myself!” Rufus pulled his hidden dagger from his boot and started to cut away Serene’s shirt to get a better look at the wound.

What he saw, while not as bad as it could be, was still pretty bad.

The wound had luckily failed to damage the heart or lungs but even though the blade had been removed when the man holding it had fallen, the frost enchantment on the sword itself had left behind shards of ice that were freezing the blood and killing the tissues surrounding the wound at a rapid rate. It was also still bleeding profusely, a major artery to the heart having been cut by the blade, and if Rufus couldn’t stop it, Serene was as good as dead. 

“Didn’t realize you were so desperate to get me naked,” Serene weakly joked. Rufus tore his eyes away from the awful wound to glare at his boyfriend.

“Please, for once in your life, just _shut the fuck up_ and let me concentrate.”

Taking a shaky deep breath, Rufus closed his eyes and called up his deepest feelings of love and protection, channeling it all to his hand. Then, he pressed his glowing white palm directly over the wound and willed the bleeding to stop and the wound to stitch closed.

The slick warm blood that began to coat Rufus’ hand made him wince but he refused to lift up nor break his concentration, instead pushing any and all of his remaining mana into the strongest healing spell he could cast.

And so it was devastating to lift his hand and see that the wound hadn’t gotten even a little smaller.

As Rufus struggled to think of what else to do, he heard the clop of hooves beside him and then the thump of someone dismounting. A few seconds later, Rodrigue dashed into view, the concern on his face a perfect mirror to Rufus’ own expression.

“What happened? Are you ok Serene?” Rodrigue’s piercing eyes seemed to gaze into Rufus’ soul, seeking answers that he was in no position to give.

Curling his bloodied hand up and swallowing down the nausea threatening to overwhelm him, Rufus did his best to think back on his healing classes.

_When treating a severe wound, apply the healing spell directly to the fle-_ ’Why did he do that? Doesn’t he know that I can’t live if he dies like this?’ _-in the event of certain wounds it may be necessary to-_ ‘oh sweet Serios why are you staring at me like that, like I know what to do right now? Can’t you see how scared I am?’ _-make sure the client stays as still and calm as possible to minimize risk of further incidental injury-_

‘When was the last time I told him I loved him? Why can’t I remember when that was?’

“Rufus what do we do!?” Rodrigue snapped, panic setting in as he dropped to his knees to prop his brother up against his body. 

Finally a plan crystallized in Rufus’ mind about what to do- a plan that made him feel sick if he thought too hard about it.

_When all else fails, cauterization may be used as a last resort. If the patient is still conscious, having someone restrain them is best. Be sure to give them a bite block when possible to prevent them from bitting their tongue._

“Rodrigue, I need you to hold him very very still.” Rufus sheathed his knife and held out the handle to Serene’s mouth. “I need you to take a deep breath and bite this.”

“What are you going to do?” Rodrigue asked, brow furrowed in concern and he held his brother’s hand and prepared his other arm to restrain him if needed.

“Cauterization. With any luck this will only take a few seconds.” Rufus swallowed as he felt his palm begin to warm, the blood burning away as the heat built up into a nearly white hot fire. Serene’s eyes widened then squeezed shut as Rodrigue watched in a stunned sort of horrified fascination as Rufus sucked in a breath and pressed his hand over the heart of his lover.

Serene immediately tried to jerk away, a muffled scream falling from his lips as Rodrigue held him still and looked away. The smell was awful- like someone had left a cut of veal on the pan for way too long and the once tender flesh was now going bad as it burned. Combined with the acrid smell of Serene’s burning chest hair, Rufus felt himself gag a bit but resolutely swallowed down the bile.

He tried to focus on anything other than what his hands were doing- he thought about how as soon as this was over he would need to bring him to the infirmary and check in with his brother. Perhaps he could convince Rodrigue to stay by his twin’s side so Serene wouldn’t be alone.

After mentally counting to ten, Rufus dropped the spell and lifted his hand, wincing at the way Serene’s flesh tried to peel off and stick to his palm. Swallowing bile, Rufus wiped his hand on Serene’s discarded tunic and made eye contact with Rodrigue- who looked just as close to vomiting- and Serene who was barely clinging to consciousness as he whimpered around the knife handle.

“Rodrigue could you please carry Serene to the infirmary for additional treatment? I’ve exhausted my own mana and he requires more extensive treatment.” Rodrigue looked torn, his eyes darting over toward Lambert. Rufus followed his gaze and saw that- while Lambert had things handled- his baby brother’s back was tense with stress. “I’ll go help Lambert, you help your brother.”

With a nod, Rodrigue channeled his crest given strength to haul his brother up into his arms and carry him toward the hastily erected infirmary. As soon as they were out of sight, Rufus stood and bolted behind a building where he promptly vomited- the smell and sensations and overwhelming _terror_ that had gripped his heart were still clinging to his memory enough to make him feel like it was all still happening.

For a few minutes, Rufus stayed hunched over sobbing, his hands shaking profusely as he remembered how he could _feel_ Serene’s blood burning and flesh bubbling beneath his hand.

With a gasp Rufus dry heaved again- tears streaming down his face as he coughed violently.

He’d go check on his brother in a second but for now he still needed another moment to gather his composure.

—:—

By the time Rufus had collected himself enough to be presentable, Lambert had already finished with the church officials and the bandits’ arrests and was now beginning the process of collecting the dead for burial. When he saw Rufus approaching, his tense face melted with relief.

“Rufus, I was worried you were hurt- I hadn’t seen you since before the fight.”

“No I’m-“ Rufus swallowed thickly, “I’m fine. I’m sorry to have worried you.”

Lambert took a long hard look at his brother before he took his hand and led them away from the scene, the two ducking into an empty room previously used for storage.

“What happened?” Lambert asked, his face full of a childlike fear that no one but Rufus was ever allowed to see.

“Serene was hurt trying to protect me,” Rufus sniffed and closed his eyes, willing his tears to go away. “I had to cauterize the wound with my own magic.”

Lambert paled and hugged his brother tightly- an action that Rufus gladly returned. For a long moment neither said anything, the two just taking a moment to breathe and comfort one another.

“That sounds _awful..._ ”

Rufus didn’t respond, instead choosing to address the elephant in the room- or rather the spear on his brother’s back. “...how long since father gave you Aredbhar?”

“Right before we left,” Lambert pulled back just enough to search his brother’s face, eyes wide and unsure of what they’d find there.

It made Rufus’ heart _ache_ to see how scared Lambert was about what that meant.

“I...hadn’t realized it’d gotten that bad,” Rufus swallowed thickly, trying to keep his quickly welling emotions in check but failing miserably. “Why didn’t he _tell me_?”

Lambert’s face crumpled upon hearing his brother’s voice crack. “Rufus he...he’s sick and delusional. I...”

Rufus felt his throat tightening, the   
tears he had valiantly been holding back finally overflowing as the truth of the matter hit him. “He doesn’t trust me.”

“No!” Lambert gripped his brother’s shoulder tightly, his own eyes shining. “Rufus he’s _sick_ and- and someone is manipulating him! That’s the only explanation! Dad _loves_ you Rufus he just...” Lambert’s eyes closed and his voice lowered to a pained whisper, “doesn’t remember that anymore.”

Rufus refused to meet his brother’s eyes as he attempted to gather the tattered scraps of his emotional control. On one hand he’d always known he was second best in his father’s eyes and he had thought he’d made his peace with it- he was content to just support his precious baby brother the best he could- but to be told that he wasn’t even trustworthy enough to know that his father was _dying?_

He took a deep, controlled breath and schooled his features into a mask of neutrality. “Did he give any reasons why?”

Lambert scowled, clearly incensed on his brother’s behalf, “yeah but none of them make any damn sense. He seems _convinced_ that you’re secretly corresponding with and sneaking out to plot some kind of _coup_. As if you would ever- I think that while we were away at Garreg Mach for schooling some new advisor got their talons into him and is trying to get him to destabilize his court.”

“Right...” Rufus nodded numbly, the sick churning feeling in his guts increasing ten-fold upon Lambert’s casual revelation of the source of their father’s distrust.

The problem was that- taken out of context- Rufus could see how his behavior post graduation could be misconstrued as potentially treasonous activity. He’d thought he’d been careful- _discreet_ \- but he should have known that nothing goes unnoticed at Castle Fhirdiad.

Rufus wasn’t sure what was worse: his father distrusting him for a lie and pushing him away in the few precious final moments he had with his last surviving parent or the potentially disastrous political fallout that would fall upon his dying father and his soon to be king brother if it ever came to light what he’d actually been doing during his clandestine meetings.

He may be a crestless prince excluded from the line of succession but that didn’t mean that if it came to light that he was in the middle of a torrid affair between himself and his knight the other nobles wouldn’t find a way to spin it in their favor.

And if there was one thing Rufus would do anything to prevent it would be making his brother’s life any more difficult than it already was.

“Rufus?” Lambert squeezed his shoulder and blinked up at him with his innocent blue eyes, “ _I trust you._ You know that right?”

Rufus dragged a smile onto his lip that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “of course.”

“Father will...I’ll try talking to him again. Tell him how helpful you were here. Then he’ll come to his senses.”

“Thank you,” Rufus said, doubting that it would do anything yet appreciating the sentiment anyway.

Lambert sighed, “I should get back to helping with the dead. _You_ , on the other hand, should go check on Serene.”

“Alright,” Rufus eyed Lambert suspiciously. “Don’t work too hard.”

Lambert left with one final squeeze to his shoulder and a knowing look. Sometimes, like just then, Rufus was positive that Lambert knew about Serene and his relationship but other times Lambert seemed so oblivious that he was sure his brother was clueless.

He supposed it didn’t really matter.

Rufus leaned against the wall in the ransacked storage room and sunk down to the floor, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his forehead on his knees as he finally let the tears he’d been holding in during the conversation out.

As if he didn’t already hate how useless he was. As if he needed yet another reminder that he was forever the unwanted spare of the family- now his father wouldn’t even trust him enough to let him know he was _dying._

Not for the first time Rufus wished desperately that his mother was still alive. Queen Anthea had always known just what to say to make Rufus feel better- to feel special and unique in his own right- and so the fact that she was gone? That Rufus hadn’t been able to even say goodbye?

It was a pain that even a year and a half later he didn’t know how to process.

As Rufus finally let himself cry- actually sob and bawl like he was still a child- he tried not to think about what would become of his family without her influence. Already King Fredrick was failing in both health and mind but how long until it was Lambert or himself?

What would he do if there was no one left?

—:—

Serene was asleep when Rufus was finally calm enough to go to his bedside. Rodrigue was still sitting there- half asleep in his chair- watching over his twin brother.

Rodrigue startled awake the moment Rufus closed the door, coughing briskly to try and disguise his snores as something else.

“It’s fine Rodrigue, I’ll take it from here,” Rufus rested a hand on his shoulder. “Go help Lambert outside.”

Rodrigue hesitantly got to his feet, glancing between his twin and Rufus, conflicted. “I don’t want him to be alone...”

“I told you I’d watch him. He got hurt because of me so it’s only fair that I take care of him,” Rufus gentled his expression slightly, “if something happens you’ll be the first to know.”

That seemed to make up Rodrigue’s mind as he nodded his thanks and left the room, leaving Rufus to take his now unoccupied chair.

Carefully Rufus looked his boyfriend over with a trained eye no longer clouded by a blinding panic. Serene was currently living up to his namesake for once- his body lax and peaceful no doubt due to some sort of drug he’d ingested for pain- and from the smell of poultice in the air coupled with the pristine white bandages wrapped around his chest it was clear the healers had dressed the burn instead of attempting to heal it.

Gently, Rufus tucked a stray strand away from Serene’s face, glad that he’d been granted a private room away from prying eyes.

With a low whine, Serene’s eyes fluttered open- sleepy and drug addled- to meet Rufus’ own.

“Rufus...” Serene looked like he wanted to say more but the drugs were making speaking very difficult.

“Don’t you _ever_ do that again,” Rufus tried for a scowl but knew it probably looked more worried than anything else. Serene snorted.

“No, ‘s my job. Gotta protect you...”

“Then who will protect _you_ huh?” Rufus took Serene’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“There are other knights.”

“Not like you,” Rufus felt a few tears threatening to fall and wanted to groan in frustration. It seemed like all he could do today was cry like a baby. “You think I could just find a _replacement_ for you? Unthinkable.”

“‘M nothin special,” Serene’s lips twitched up in a self depreciating smile. “You deserve better.”

“ _I love you,_ ” Rufus scowled, “does that mean nothing? I don’t want you because you’re the best, I want you because you’re _you._ ”

“Oh,” Serene’s cheeks flushed pink even as he tried to figure out how to respond, “I love you too.”

Rufus leaned over and pressed a kiss to the corner of Serene’s mouth, “Good answer. Now go back to sleep. You need your rest.”

Serene pouted and squeezed Rufus’ hand, “c’mere...you look upset...”

“Don’t worry about it love- just get some rest.”

The pout turned into a scowl as Serene insistently tugged his boyfriend closer, “Rufus what’s wrong?”

With a dramatic sigh Rufus let himself get pulled into Serene’s bed, settling into their usual configuration post sex without thought- Rufus tucked up against his lover’s right side with an arm thrown over Serene’s body while Serene held him in a close one armed embrace, his hand resting high on his thigh as he stroked the muscle absentmindedly.

“...Lambert’s wielding Aredbhar.” Rufus swallowed thickly, “my father is dying and he didn’t even tell me.”

Serene, bless his soul, formulated the most sympathetic response his drug addled brain could construct: “That fucking sucks.”

Despite himself, Rufus laughed- laughed much much harder than the situation warranted- because despite everything, Serene was still Serene and if nothing else at least that would remain unchanged by the future.

Beside him, Serene scowled as if he was the butt of a joke he didn’t even know, “the fuck’s so funny?”

“I fucking love you Serene,” Rufus pressed a kiss against the line of stubble between Serene’s throat and beard. “Never change.”

Apparently mollified by Rufus’ response, Serene started to nod off again, his eyes heavy with painkillers and other medicines he didn’t know the exact purpose of but seemed important. “Love you too...” he mumbled just before falling asleep once more.

Rufus knew that he couldn’t remain at his knight and lover’s side for much longer- he didn’t know the nurse’s schedules and besides, Serene needed his rest- but he decided he could remain him his embrace for just a little while longer.

After all, it wasn’t often they got to cuddle and- while it certainly wasn’t the vaguely romantic vacation Rufus had hoped he could turn the miserable trip into- it was enough that they were both alive and together.

Everything else was just details.

—:—

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t forget to leave a comment and/or kudos if you liked it before you go. They give me the much needed motivation to keep writing.


End file.
